


The Downfall

by TheCommonStray



Series: Super Editions [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-21 23:31:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11954988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCommonStray/pseuds/TheCommonStray
Summary: Echopaw is a young LeafClan apprentice; eager to fight for her Clan. This all changes when Echopaw gets her warrior name--Echopool. A tragic death shakes the Clan to its core, leaving Echopool having to choose between the loyalty she feels to her Clan, or to the cat she had pledged her love to. The choice she makes either saves her Clan, or leads to the downfall of the cat she loves most.A prequel to the Uncast Stones Trilogy; this is a story of love, vengeance, and betrayal.





	1. Allegiances

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So if you've been following my current series--Uncast Stones, and it's second book Gathering Storm--then this is definitely a must read. It details events many moons before the start of Uncast Stones, and brings to light many answers to questions you may have. I hope you enjoy this!

**LeafClan  
**

**Leader:** Eaglestar- Large cream-furred tabby tom with amber eyes.

 **Deputy:** Treefall- Dark brown tabby tom with silver eyes.

 **Medicine Cat:** Lilybreeze- Dilute tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes.

_Apprentice: Whisperpaw_

**Warriors:**

Birchclaw- Light brown tom with silver eyes.

_Apprentice: Falconpaw_

Frosttail- Black she-cat with a white tail tip, and chest tuft. Has yellow eyes.

Jayeyes- Silver tabby tom with ice blue eyes.

Sweetmist- Tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes.

_Apprentice: Longpaw_

Sootfeather- Dark gray tom with white paws. Has blue eyes.

_Apprentice: Hawkpaw_

Cinderflame- Speckled gray she-cat with brown eyes.

Bluehail- Blue-gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes.

_Apprentice: Echopaw_

Wolffang- Dark brown tom with green eyes.

_Apprentice: Nettlepaw_

Scorchstrike- Black-and-white tom with brown eyes.

_Apprentice: Dawnpaw_

Embernose- Gray she-cat with a black-tipped nose. Has blue eyes.

Dustpebble- Silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes.

Greenberry- Black-and-white she-cat with amber eyes.

**Apprentices:**

Echopaw- Fluffy calico she-cat with blue eyes. Has black-tipped ears and toes.

Hawkpaw- Brown tabby tom with yellow eyes.

Falconpaw- Black tabby tom with blue eyes.

Whisperpaw- Small black-and-white tom with silver eyes.

Dawnpaw- Dappled ginger she-cat with long soft fur. Has amber eyes. 

Longpaw- Ginger tabby tom with unusual long whiskers. Has green eyes. 

Nettlepaw- Dusty brown she-cat with green eyes.

**Queens:**

Brackenwing- Ginger-and-white tabby she-cat with yellow eyes. (Mate to Sootfeather. Mother to Foxkit, and Silverkit.)

Oaktuft- Tan tabby she-cat with a dark brown chest tuft. Has green eyes. (Mate to Treefall. Mother to Briarkit, and Amberkit.)

Flowerheart- Small fluffy gray she-cat with yellow eyes. (Mate to Wolffang. Mother to Lionkit, and Softkit.)

**Elders:**

Russetpelt- Old ragged red-furred tom with brown eyes.

Mallowfoot- Black she-cat with yellow eyes.

Goosefur- Soft-furrred white tom with blue eyes.

Smallcloud- Small gray-and-white she-cat with green eyes.

* * *

  **BreezeClan**

 **Leader:** Ryestar- Dark brown tom with yellow eyes

 **Deputy:** Ferretstripe- Pale brown tabby tom with blue eyes

 **Medicine Cat:** Deerspots- Brown she-cat with white flecked back. Has blue eyes

* * *

**ReedClan**

**Leader:** Willowstar- Cream-furred tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

 **Deputy:** Stormfang- Dark gray tabby tom with white paws. Has silver eyes

 **Medicine Cat:** Reedsplash- Brown and-white tom with silver eyes

* * *

**PineClan**

**Leader:** Darkstar- Old dark gray tabby tom with green eyes

 **Deputy:** Lavendersky- Sleek-furred blue tabby she-cat with silver eyes

 **Medicine Cat:** Spiderskip- Long-legged dark brown tom with green eyes

_Apprentice: Crowpaw_

* * *

**Cats Outside the Clans**

Lily- Slender dilute tortoiseshell she-cat with silver eyes.

Dune- Dark ginger tabby tom with yellow eyes.

Boulder- Dark gray tom with green eyes.

Mole- Skinny brown tom with yellow eyes.


	2. Prologue

The screeches of Echostar’s warriors filled her ears, and the stench of blood flooded through her nostrils. Her own pelt stung with scratches and she could feel tiredness in her muscles. Icestar—ReedClan’s leader—was nearby, his red eyes narrowed into slits. The powerful tom’s nearly translucent fur was stained with his own blood, closely matching the color of his eyes. An agonized wail caught her attention then, causing Echostar to look away.

The still body of Duskstrike lay nearby, while his mate—Nettleleaf—slumped over him in grief. _Oh StarClan no!_ Echostar felt her blood run cold. _No one was supposed to die!_

Echostar didn’t have much time to grieve. Icestar was on her in an instant, and the two leaders were locked in battle. Pain seared up her shoulder as the albino tom sunk his teeth into her foreleg. Screeching in anger, Echostar sliced her claws across his muzzle. At once Icestar let her go, blood spurting from the slash Echostar caused. Staggering from the pain, Echostar attempted to regain her balance.

“Murderer!”

The snarl caught Echostar off guard. Gazing over she saw the warrior Ripplefeather standing beside the limp body of an apprentice. Rainfall stared at him in horror, as if he couldn’t believe what had just happened. As the older warrior leaped towards Rainfall, he was tackled away by Sagepelt—Rainfall’s father. While the two toms grappled across the ground, Firelight snapped at Rainfall, who in turn charged back into the battle.

Horror froze her solid as she watched Firelight then sink her fangs into the warrior, Blueclaw’s, throat. _No!_ Echostar wanted to yowl, but no sound came out. As Firelight ran back into battle, Echostar dug her claws into the ground. _This battle has to end now! Before anyone else dies!_

She faced Icestar with a snarl. The two cats began to fight once more, this time rolling towards the river’s edge. Swiping violently at Icestar’s muzzle, Echostar could feel her back paws slipping. Sharp pain shot up her side as Icestar sunk his teeth into her shoulder, and Echostar felt her paws give way. Panic filled Echostar as she grabbed at air, only to drag the ReedClan leader over the edge with her instead.

“Echostar!” Shadowheart’s screech could be heard above, just before the two cats plunged into the river below.

Echostar instantly felt herself dragged down by the current. Cold water pierced her body and she struggled to swim back up towards the surface. Fatigue from the battle had made her muscles weak and tired, and she soon began to drift towards the bottom of the river. The corners of her vision began to darken, and calmness overtook her.

_Silversky,_ the image of her long passed sister flashed in Echostar’s mind. _Was this what it was like for you...all of those moons ago?_ Eyes closed, Echostar could feel the current pulling at her fur. _Perhaps this is what I deserve after letting a cat like Hawktalon live. Oh Silversky, please watch over our Clan…_

Darkness engulfed her vision completely then. However, in what felt like mere seconds, life began to flood back into her body at once. She was now on the riverbank, surrounded by her own warriors. Icestar was nearby, his deputy—Stonetail—holding him up. Coughing up water, Echostar lifted her head weakly.

“Shadowheart?” She could just barely make out Shadowheart’s dark gray pelt with her blurred vision.

“I’m here,” came Shadowheart’s voice, and she felt his warm breath on her muzzle.

Echostar could feel her energy draining. She closed her eyes tiredly and asked, “My warriors, are they okay?”

The silence that followed told Echostar all she needed to know. Who else had been killed? What else must her Clan must suffer for?

“Duskstrike is with StarClan now,” it was Firelight who finally answered. “He died like a warrior.”

Echostar laid still, trying to steady her breathing. _Duskstrike, I’m so sorry...I failed you as a leader._ She opened her eyes slowly. To her surprise, she could see the faint starry silhouette of the brown warrior nearby, watching his grieving mate with sadness in his eyes. _I see now,_ Echostar realized slowly. _This must be it._ She laid her head down, unable to keep it up any longer.

“Yes,” she breathed quietly. “I can see him now.”

“Echostar!” Shadowheart exclaimed, clear distress in his voice.

_Oh, Shadowheart...your name fits you better than you’ll ever know,_ Echostar lifted her gaze towards him. How had the shy, timid kit she had taken into her Clan all those moons ago become such a brave and loyal warrior? _You are just like your father when he was young,_ she thought. _Before he changed into what he is now. You will be the one to stop him, I know you won’t make the same mistake I made so many moons ago..._

“Shadowheart,” Echostar murmured at last. “You are a brave cat. Do not make the same mistakes I had made. No matter what, you _must_ stop Hawk.”

“No!” Shadowheart snapped, lashing his tail. Echostar tried hard to not flinch at the desperate tone in his voice. “You can do it yourself! You’re not going to die here, not now!”

Firelight had pressed close to his side then, and Echostar could see grief darken her gaze. Echostar knew this would be hard for her Clan to accept. However she also knew that Foxchaser would be a much stronger leader than she had been; one that would lead LeafClan to prosperity. _It’s time,_ Echostar felt her breaths becoming weaker. _I’m running out of time._

“I do not have much time left,” Echostar managed to rasp. “Tell Foxchaser that I’m sorry; she will be a far better leader than I ever could be. I will see her again, when she comes to receive her nine lives.” She closed her eyes, sadness gripping her heart. “Maybe then I will be able to face Silversky again; and see the kits I never had the chance to meet.”

Shadowheart laid beside her, trembling. “Echostar, please don’t die,” she heard him choke back a sob as he continued. “LeafClan still needs you.”

_LeafClan needs a leader able to keep them safe,_ an image of Hawk flashed in her mind. _I was never able to do that...Foxstar will do what is right for LeafClan._

Weakly, she wrapped her tail around Shadowheart. “LeafClan will live on, with Foxchaser as their leader,” she murmured, struggling to make out her last few words. “My time is up, and StarClan calls me. I’m afraid this is it; tell Foxchaser I’m sorry...”

Echostar felt the pressure from her lungs evaporate. She was standing over her body suddenly, and it didn’t take her long to realize she had lost her final life. As her Clanmates hunched around her in grief, she gave a nod to Duskstrike, who waited for her from beside his own body. For the first time in many moons, Echostar was certain that her Clan would survive; and that StarClan had forgiven her at last.


	3. Chapter One

A mouse scurried along the bracken, its steps soundless and hesitant. The slightest noise caught its attention and its small head swiftly would lift up. Large ears alert and listening, the mouse cautiously got back down on all fours as it continued on its way. Nibbling at a short stalk of grass, the mouse was completely unaware as a shadow drifted in the grass behind it.

It was too late by the time the mouse caught on to being hunted. In a quick swipe of a claw, it lay dead among the bracken. Echopaw graciously picked up the limp body, relishing in the taste of fresh blood upon her tongue.

“Great catch!” came a nearby voice.

Warmed by the praise, Echopaw carried her catch over towards the voice. A blue-gray tabby awaited her, amber eyes glowing with pride.

“Excellent catch,” she praised her apprentice. “You’re getting better at hunting every day it seems.”

Echopaw sat her mouse down, pleased. “You really think so, Bluehail?”

“I do,” Bluehail purred, gesturing for Echopaw to pick her mouse back up.

Bouncing happily, Echopaw followed her mentor as they walked back towards camp. She had only been an apprentice for three moons; and Bluehail was the kind of mentor every apprentice dreamed of having. The blue-gray warrior was well respected in the Clan despite still being a young warrior, and even the senior warriors looked to her for advice at times.

When they emerged through the hole in a hollow log that opened up to their camp, Echostar hurriedly placed her mouse on the fresh-kill pile. The LeafClan camp was located in a forest clearing, surrounded by thick bramble walls. A thick oak tree sat at the edge of camp, just by the entrance. Its roots were wrapped tightly around a large boulder that lay above ground, and a small crevice in the rock was where Eaglestar—LeafClan’s leader—made his nest. The rest of the camp was made up of the warriors’, apprentices’, and nursery; which were all made from woven thorn to keep wind and rain out. At the other end of camp, laid the elder’s den and medicine cat den just across from it. The elder’s den was in the base of an old hollowed out tree trunk, with reinforced bramble walls to keep the wind out. A large sturdy hollow log made up the medicine cat den, a lichen drape covering the entrance; just outside was a small pool of water for moss.

_LeafClan is such a great place to live,_ Echopaw thought proudly. She was happy to have been born a LeafClan cat, and the thought of the other territories could never compare to the forest clearing. Tiny mewling caught her attention, and she glanced over at the nursery. _That’s right, the kits were born only few days ago,_ she recalled with a glimmer of happiness. She had been an only kit up until now. Her mother Brackenwing had recently given birth to her and Sootfeather’s—Echopaw’s father—second litter of kits.

Tail curled up excitedly, she poked her head into the den. Brackenwing laid in her nest nearby, her ginger-and-white pelt barely visible in the darkness. Two tiny kits squirmed at her belly, mewling restlessly.

“They’re so noisy today,” Echopaw purred, coming to sit beside her mother.

Brackenwing curled her tail around them lovingly. “You were quite the noisy kit yourself, you know.”

“Was I really?” Echopaw asked, amused.

“Oh yes,” Brackenwing mewed, a hint of amusement in her voice. “If it wasn’t you, it was Hawkpaw and Falconpaw making a fuss. The nursery was never quiet, I’ll tell you that!”

Echopaw purred at the thought of her and her denmates as tiny kits. She, Hawkpaw, and Falconpaw had been born in the dead of leaf-bare; a time when LeafClan was struggling with sickness and hunger. Her mother, and Falconpaw and Hawkpaw’s mother—Cinderflame—constantly worried if the three of them would make it to newleaf. Despite the odds, she and her denmates grew each day and due to the hardships had developed a close bond; one similar to that of littermates.

_And now we’re all training as apprentices together too,_ Echopaw thought with fondness.

A squeak came from one of the kits just then, and Echopaw gave a tiny laugh as one of her sisters—a dark ginger-and-white she-kit her parents named Foxkit—rolled over onto her back. Her other sister, a spotted silver tabby she-kit who was given the name Silverkit, gaped her tiny mouth open in a yawn. Brackenwing gently nosed Foxkit back onto her belly, and drew both kits closer to nurse.

“They’re so cute,” Echopaw murmured, watching her little sisters. “I wonder what they’ll be like when they’re older?”

Brackenwing licked her cheek. “Only time will tell,” she told Echopaw. “And they’ll have a kind older sister to watch over them.”

A brown tabby head poked into the nursery then, gazing at them with yellow eyes. “Oh there you are Echopaw!”

“Hush!” Echopaw scolded him. “You’ll wake my sisters!”

Flattening his ears back apologetically, the tom sighed. “Sorry. Falconpaw and I were wondering if you wanted to go hunting with us is all.”

“Sure,” Echopaw purred. “I’ll meet you guys outside in a moment.”

Giving a brief nod, the tom vanished back outside. Echopaw touched her nose to her mothers, in which Brackenwing gave an amused purr.

“Hawkpaw is always so full of energy,” she remarked. “He must get that from his father, Eaglestar.”

Echopaw mewed in agreement, gently nuzzling her little sisters before leaving the nursery. Hawkpaw, and his brother Falconpaw waited for her nearby; Hawkpaw fizzling with excitement as usual.

“Finally!” Hawkpaw gave a snort. “Let’s go already!”

Echopaw rolled her eyes in exasperation at her friend’s impatience. “Where exactly are we going?”

“You’ll see! Just come on!” Hawkpaw called over his shoulder, rushing ahead.

Falconpaw gave her an apologetic glance. “You know my brother,” he reminded her. “Act first, think later.”

Murmuring her agreement, she followed the black tabby as they rushed after Hawkpaw. The three apprentices raced through the forest, scattering the leaves that lay on the ground from late greenleaf. Hawkpaw came to halt beside a ravine, gazing at them with excited eyes.

Echopaw uneasily slipped her gaze past him, realizing they were at the foggy ravine; an infamous chasm that separated LeafClan from PineClan. Every apprentice is taught early on in their training to never go near the ravine, as every cat who had ever fell in was never seen again. The ominous thick layer of fog gave the ravine its name, as no cat could see the bottom at any given time.

“Why are we at the foggy ravine?” Echopaw asked, quickly realizing the reason.

Falconpaw frowned. “I still think this is a bad idea, Hawkpaw. We’re told to specifically to stay away from this place.”

Hawkpaw rolled his eyes. “Oh come on you guys! It’s just a stupid ravine! Besides, aren’t either of you the _least_ bit curious?”

“No!” Echopaw snapped, fur bristling. “Why would any cat want to go near there? You know what happens when one falls in!”

“Oh please, Echopaw,” Hawkpaw snorted. “That’s just a story every new apprentice is told to spook them.”

Falconpaw tipped his head to the side. “Maybe. But is it really worth risking?”

“I’m telling you, it’s not that big of a deal!” Hawkpaw persisted. “Watch, I’ll show you myself!”

Tense, Echopaw watched as her friend padded over to the ravine confidently. He peered over the edge carefully, gazing down into the fog. Falconpaw stepped forward uneasily, ready to pounce on his brother if he had to. After a few moments, Hawkpaw backed up from the edge a bit and glanced back at them.

“Bah! You can’t see anything at all!” he growled in disappointment. “What a letdown.”

“Good, now we can go right?” Echopaw asked, twitching her tail tip irritably.

Why did her friend always insist on doing something mouse-brained? Last time he suggested they going swimming in the river near the ReedClan border, and Falconpaw nearly drowned. The time before that, he had suggested they try to find the Cavern of Stars themselves, only to be brought back by an angry BreezeClan patrol moments after stepping onto the moor. Every time Hawkpaw had an idea, it only spelled trouble for everyone involved.

A noise echoed from below then, causing the apprentices to swivel their eyes over towards the ravine. Hawkpaw peered over the edge again, tail twitching with excitement.

“Did you guys hear that?” he called over.

Falconpaw shuffled his paws nervously. “Yes, we did. Can we please go now?”

Echopaw nodded in agreement. “Yeah, we really shouldn’t be here.”

“Oh relax already!” Hawkpaw snapped, looking back at them. “Everything will be just fin-”

Then it happened. Hawkpaw’s front paws slipped from under him, sending him sliding down towards the ravine below. Echopaw watched in horror as her friend slowly become consumed by the fog. _No, Hawkpaw!_


End file.
